This week: bats, bikes, glaciers, pink-footed geese, Transformers and evil ranchers...
DECISION TIME FOR TWO TUNNELS
The proposed Two Tunnels Greenway now faces a public consultation period before a final decision is made and supporters are being urged to express their support for the project to the council by email. It only takes a couple of minutes – details at http://twotunnels.org.
Meanwhile, a walk of the route is taking place on Saturday 30 January. It starts from Linear Park, close to the Royal Oak on Lower Bristol Road at 10am. The tunnels themselves will be closed, so the four-mile stroll will instead go over the top of Combe Down before finishing at the Hope and Anchor in Midford around 1.15pm, from where buses run back to Bath at just after the hour.
In yet more TT news, the lights in the tunnels could be switched off at night so the bats aren't disturbed. And in the interests of safety, gates that could be locked at night are also being considered.
http://tinyurl.com/bats-and-gates
INCREDIBLE VEGGIE ROAD SHOW
This free-entry event visits the Guildhall on Saturday 6 February from 10.30am-4pm. On the veggie menu: free tastings, cookery demos, talks, beauty products, books and more.
http://viva.org.uk/bath
WALCOT AUCTION
As many of you will have heard, Walcot Reclamation has gone into administration. They are now preparing for an auction their remaining stock at both their Walcot and Bathampton sites on Monday 15 February 2010. Times will be advertised on their website soon.
http://walcot.com
ELECTRIC CAR MAKER GRABS POWABYKE
After selling more than 30,000 bikes since it began trading in 1999, the Bath firm has sold up after struggling to raise the capital to expand last year.
http://tinyurl.com/powabyke-pedalled
US CLIMATE BILL UNLIKELY TO BE PASSED THIS YEAR
News from further afield. Hopes of an international climate deal look more shaky than ever now that Republican Scott Bown has won a seat in the US Senate, robbing the Democrats of their filibuster-proof 60-40 majority. Obama's Climate Bill will now need Republican support...
http://tinyurl.com/oh-bummer
OBAMA GRADED B- ON CLIMATE
Meanwhile, the US' League of Conservation Voters has awarded President Obama a B-plus grade for his handling of climate and energy issues. They gave George W. Bush a D-minus for his first year in office – which in hindsight seems rather generous.
http://tinyurl.com/could-do-better
CHILLING TRUTH BEHIND GLACIER GAFFE
The UN's panel of climate scientists has gifted climate change deniers a goal by releasing a warning about Himalayan glaciers that was based on an interview with a journalist rather than peer-reviewed science. But the gaffe is most worrying because it revels how little we know about the future of the Himalayas-Hindu Kush, a region on which nearly 40 per cent of the world's population depends for water.
http://tinyurl.com/glaciergate
BAGS FOR LIFE MOUNTAIN
Have you got a growing collection of bags for life? You are not alone!
http://tinyurl.com/bags-of-bags-of-bags
MET OFFICE: THIS SUMMER COULD BE HOTTEST ON RECORD
The under-fire Met Office is tempting fate again by suggesting that, because our old friend El Nino is back, "this year is more likely than not to be the hottest on record". Doug Smith, climate scientist at the Met Office's Hadley Centre, sensibly added the caveat: "Even if it isn't, I am quite sure a record breaker will still occur in the next few years."
http://tinyurl.com/BBQ-summer
CASH FOR CLIMATE CLIMATE INFLUENCE
The climate debate in the US could be affected by a Supreme Court ruling that corporations can spend as much money as they like to influence elections...
http://tinyurl.com/greenwash-fear
THAMES EEL POPULATION WIPED OUT
It could be because of shifts in oceanic currents due to climate change, man-made structures like dams or diseases and parasites, but the eel population in the Thames has crashed by a whacking 98 per cent in five years. Tidal Thames conservation project manager Dr Matthew Gollock: "Time appears to be running out for eels in the River Thames and this could have a domino effect on other species."
http://tinyurl.com/eel-bad-factor
GREENWASH OF THE WEEK
Brazilian cattle-ranching company Yaguarete Pora S.A. has received a greenwashing award from indigenous rights group Survival International after suggesting that its illegal bulldozing of land belonging to the Ayoreo-Totobiegosode tribe in Paraguay was "a noble gesture for conservation". The company's website said it would create a "nature reserve" on the deforested land – yet detailed plans submitted to the Paraguayan environment ministry showed that it was clearing two thirds of the 78,549 hectares for cattle...
http://tinyurl.com/forestwash
PINK-FOOTED GEESE "WORSE THAN PATIO HEATERS"
Apparently the critters are ripping up the Arctic with great gusto, causing no end of CO2 emissions. But they do have a right to exist, unlike patio heaters.
http://tinyurl.com/pink-not-new-green
GREEN INVENTION OF THE WEEK
It's a 14-foot replica of Optimus Prime, leader of every child's favourarte race of robots, the Autobots! Made by a Taiwanese DIY enthusiast, he has a chest made from some old windows, a back that has been fashioned from old TV aerials and all sorts of other things you might find lying about in a garage. We don't think he turns into a truck though.
http://tinyurl.com/rubbish-in-disguise
The weekly Green Bath News digest is compiled by Gideon Kibblewhite. Let Gideon know if you've seen a story you think he should cover. To subscribe visit greenbath.org/og, create a user id if you don't already have one and subscribe to Bath Green News.
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